Dragon-Arch of Keiala Maya
The Dragon-Arch of Keiala Maya is a crystal bridge whose seven spans trace a serpentine line over a low rocky Western reef. Built to appear carved from ice and frozen wind and inlaid with blue glass and copper, the bridge's eight towers appear from a distance to be hovering very slightly just over the sea. The copper oxidizes with the swell of the seas, which then wear away the patina with stinging spray, so that the inlays are always intricately patterned with green. Built at the height of the Shogunate, it was meant to be a base of operations for a sorcerer's exploring vessels; one of the bridge's curves shelters a small harbor, and the top of the spans contain comfortable living space as well as storage rooms. An observatory takes up much of the very top level. Certain rooms in the fifth tower house a sizeable library. During the height of the Shogunate and the centuries following, the manse was inhabited continuously by a series of Western sorcerers. Its history came to an abrupt break, however, when the Great Contagion struck down every inhabitant of the place. For the next several centuries it lay empty, its books moldering and its harbor gradually silting in. The manse was barely touched by the Faerie invasion, unscathed in the subsequent fights, and hardly noticed the rise of the Scarlet Empress: it was lost to history. Then, two years after the breaking of the Jade Prison, a Solar Exalt called Adamant Fern came upon the manse. It was completely intact, with even some of its furniture remaining. The library was mostly ruined, its books gone to dust; but a few remained, and one of them taught her a spell to restore the rest. She decided that she liked the place, and settled in to restore it and make it once again a home. Later, after she met Daughter of the Amber Melody, the two agreed to share ownership of the manse; both are attuned to it, and each carries one of its two hearthstones. Hearthstone The Dragon-Arch produces two hearthstones -- a Neverdrown Opal and a Jewel of the Flying Heart. The three-dot Neverdrown Opal is a perfect sphere, light-blue and opaque in color, which seems to be hollow. As it turns against the light, green, silver, and purple opalescence shimmers over it. While it is attuned, the bearer need never worry about breathing: the stone sends trickles of Air Essence into her lungs, allowing her to she can hold her breath indefinitely. Fern carries this stone, set into her Spear-Thrower of Exalted Prowess. The one-dot Jewel of the Flying Heart is a reddish wedge that adds +1 to its bearer's Dodge DV and +1 to any Melee attack made with the item into which the stone is set. Amber bears this stone. Mechanics The Dragon-Arch is a level-4 Air-aspected manse, sitting on a demesne of the same aspect and power. It boasts the Subtle Breath of Sextes Jylis (2 points), which keeps the manse comfortable no matter the weather, with the added ability to become very un''comfortable on command. These commands are issued via Password Activations (1), specifically certain phrases in Old Realm. The library constitutes an Archive (2) with specialties in Sorcerous Research (Occult), Engineering (Lore), and Western Geography (Lore), offering the benefits of a 3-die Specialty to characters using it for research. The same library is host to two of the manse's Magical Conveniences (1). Its blue-glass shelves index all items placed on them (and there's room for much more than just the Archive's books), bringing the information up on request at a central reading-crystal. This crystal can scan and store up to (Rating x 200) maps or other single-sheet documents: one need only place the document face-down on the crystal and give the password for the manse to save it forever. In all rooms of the manse, the upper walls and ceiling begin to shed a cool blue-white light whenever someone enters. The Dragon-Arch also has a Glorious Halo of Heshiesh (2), allowing it to display on command any document it has saved, as well as produce other images; Fern often commands it to overlay various maps, producing a valuable and detailed chart of most of the West which can zoom, pan, and place markers on command. Hearthstone Distribution Amber and Fern used to spend considerable stretches at the manse, practicing and studying respectively, or just relaxing. During one of these afternoons, Amber entered the library to find Fern standing in front of a side table, arms akimbo, frowning disconsolately down at a stack of books. "Just missing the one," she muttered to herself. "''Damn it..." After a pause, Amber merely looked over to her and said "I'm taking the boat. I'll be back with it in a week." Fern jumped, startled -- she hadn't heard Amber enter -- and whipped around. "Wait -- what? Do you know what these are? I..." But Amber had already closed the door behind her. As promised, she was back in a week, striding into the library and interjecting a thick, battered volume between Fern's nose and the book she was reading. The sorceress stared, astonished. "How--''" "Sorry, I forgot to get milk." Fern closed one hand around the book. Very softly: "Do you have any idea what this is worth to me?" "I would assume... given what I got it for... three nights' performing. However, I've heard you sing, and there's no need for repayment, I assure." "You wouldn't want me to repay ''that way. I sing almost as badly as I dance, and half as wildly." Fern closed her other book, tucking the new one tightly under her arm, and stood up. "I do insist on something, though. Here--" and she reached inside one sleeve of her robes, pulling out a tawny-red wedge of crystal stone-- "take this. It's the least I can do." Amber nodded gently, and smiled--not one of sly cunning, but of honest thanks as she took the stone to her pocket. "Now I just need to find something to put it in..." Category:Sunlight on the Water Category:SotW Locations Category:Adamant Fern Category:Daughter of the Amber Melody